Francisella tularensis LVS surface and membrane proteins as targets of effective post-exposure immunization for tularemia.

ABSTRACT: Francisella tularensis causes disease (tularemia) in a large number of mammals, including man. We previously demonstrated enhanced efficacy of conventional antibiotic therapy for tularemia by postexposure passive transfer of immune sera developed against a F. tularensis LVS membrane protein fraction (MPF). However, the protein composition of this immunogenic fraction was not defined. Proteomic approaches were applied to define the protein composition and identify the immunogens of MPF. MPF consisted of at least 299 proteins and 2-D Western blot analyses using sera from MPF-immunized and F. tularensis LVS-vaccinated mice coupled to liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry identified 24 immunoreactive protein spots containing 45 proteins. A reverse vaccinology approach that applied lab

SUBMITTER: Chandler JC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4324441 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature